look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': a thousand pieces of you

Name: A Thousand Pieces of You 
Author: Claudia Gray
☆☆☆☆☆ (and more if i could)
find it on goodreads
barnes & noble 
amazon

Synopsis: Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

Marguerite Caine’s physicist parents are known for their radical scientific achievements. Their most astonishing invention: the Firebird, which allows users to jump into parallel universes, some vastly altered from our own. But when Marguerite’s father is murdered, the killer—her parent’s handsome and enigmatic assistant Paul—escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.

Marguerite can’t let the man who destroyed her family go free, and she races after Paul through different universes, where their lives entangle in increasingly familiar ways. With each encounter she begins to question Paul’s guilt—and her own heart. Soon she discovers the truth behind her father’s death is more sinister than she ever could have imagined.

A Thousand Pieces of You explores a reality where we witness the countless other lives we might lead in an amazingly intricate multiverse, and ask whether, amid infinite possibilities, one love can endure.

 Full, non-spoilery (except a few clearly marked exceptions) review under the cut! 

january/february – hello book haul

As you all know, I don't do that many book hauls. I usually accumulate books like once every two weeks when I can actually get to a Barnes and Noble. However, over January and February, I seemed to just rack up tons of books over the course of these months, and since it is getting to be the very end of February, I decided to share them with you. (keep in mind some of these were residual Christmas presents, bought with Christmas giftcards, etc.)

Over the past two months, I accumulated a grand total of 21 books. Here is the (partial) book tower.

not pictured: On the Fence by Kasie West and Lady Thief by A.C. Gaughen (which are at home), and A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab and The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury (which got shipped to my home instead of dorm by an unhappy accident) 

waiting on wednesday: mosquitoland

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted over at Breaking the Spine, which puts the spotlight on new releases that make us *grabby hands* and *squeals with anticipation.*

This week's pick: Mosquitoland by David Arnold.
find it on goodreads
Release date: March 3rd

synopsis: "I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange."
After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.
So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.
Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, "Mosquitoland" is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

I love road trip stories, I love coming of age stories, and I love lyrical writing. This book promises to give me all three, and I truly cannot wait to get my hands on this. 

look at her go: reviewin' reviewin': I Was Here

Name: I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
☆☆☆☆
find it on goodreads
barnes & noble 
amazon

synopsis: Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.
 
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.
I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.

Full, non-spoilery review under the cut! 

top ten tuesday: badass book heroines

Hello all! I'm sorry I've been relatively absent from the blogging sphere for the past couple of weeks, but I've had midterms and an insane amount of writing to do, so that took precedence. But I am back and my schedule is clear for the next couple weeks, so lets talk heroines!

the taylor swift book tag

It's that time again! And by that I mean "Caroline is bored and doesn't want to do homework so she's doing another book tag!" I've been really obsessed with Taylor Swift's new album, 1989, recently, so when I was searching for a tag to do, this one jumped out at me immediately. 

I first saw this tag on Christine's channel (link to that video here), and the original video is here. 

Let's get this party started! 

top ten tuesday: things i like/dislike in a romance

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish! This week's theme is "February 10: Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike When It Comes To Romances In Books"

Now. Obviously one of my favorite things ever in books is their romances, and sometimes I will go back to a book just because of the romance, whenever I need a pick me up. However, there are certain things that can make or break a fictional relationship for me, so here's a list of those.

Dislikes 

1. Instalove- I think this is probably on a lot of peoples' dislikes list, but when two people in a story see each other and immediately feel like their lives are connected and they aren't going to ever be able to live without this other person that they just met, I just don't find it believable. It's very cringey for me when this happens, and more often than not, the book is going to end up a DNF from me. 

2. Love Triangles where the main character is trying to decide between two siblings. Ok I know that's pretty specific but honestly, love triangles have to be done just so for me to really enjoy them, and it kind of skeevs me out when there are two brothers fighting over the same girl, or vice versa. 

3. Pressure to stay in a relationship. Someone who is making comments like "I'll be dead if you leave" or "you can't leave I won't be able to go on without you." or pressurey things like "I'll just follow you if you go." I think to a certain degree, telling someone you don't want to live without them is ok, but when you resort to guilting someone into staying with you when they want to leave, that is when a line is crossed for me. 

4. When they keep secrets from each other that you know are going to hurt the relationship later. OH GOD. this just makes me want to die. I know its for the sake of creating conflict and tension, but literally a little honesty could fix all the problems in half the books I read.

5. relationships with no spark. I love the characters that physically can't make themselves stay away from each other, so when a couple is just ehh it makes me want to put the book down. 

Likes

1. Hate to Love relationships. I love love love when snarky bantering and insults turns into "wait-he's-actually-so-hot-let-me-insult-him-more-to-hide-my-feelings." and then there's lots and lots of kissing after that. 

2. Childhood friends with lots of history. I always wanted a cute boy to live next door to me so we could be best friends and then fall in love. but since that never happened to me, I settle for squealing about it in books. 

3. Nicknames in different languages. This is a huge yes from me. Especially when coupled with like #1. When someone starts calling someone something cute in another language to hide their feelings,  that's the shit I like. And like obviously no one is going to call you "precious angel fighter" in English, but like when there's a word in elvish that sums that up and a sexy guy says it to the girl he loves, WOO. 

4. When they know its right. I love it, when the full realization of love comes to a character, they totally commit to the other person. Even if they don't explain their feelings right away, as long as there is no waffling in their head. 

5. Badass guys and Badass girls getting together to kick ass while they tell each other how much they love each other. Yeah that's what I'm here for basically. I love it when both parties are more than capable of taking care of themselves, and everyone knows it, and FEARS THEM. 

ok so that's my list of likes and dislikes!! what are some of your picks?
you can find all my top ten tuesday posts here!

xx

Sunny

look at her go: reviewin', reviewin': frostfire

Name: Frostfire (Kanin Chronicles #1)
Author: Amanda Hocking
☆☆☆½
find it on goodreads
barnes and noble
amazon

synopsis: Bryn Aven is an outcast among the Kanin, the most powerful of the troll tribes.

Set apart by her heritage and her past, Bryn is a tracker who's determined to become a respected part of her world. She has just one goal: become a member of the elite King’s Guard to protect the royal family. She's not going to let anything stand in her way, not even a forbidden romance with her boss Ridley Dresden.

But all her plans for the future are put on hold when Konstantin– a fallen hero she once loved – begins kidnapping changelings. Bryn is sent in to help stop him, but will she lose her heart in the process?

Sunday Summations

Hello! This has been a pretty good reading week for me! I continue my readalong with Violet, in the middle of Frostfire by Amanda Hocking. Also, as I finished Splintered by A.G. Howard last Sunday, I continued with Unhinged, which is the sequel. I am also in the middle of finishing out that trilogy with Ensnared, the final book. The last thing I read this week was one of my new favorites, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Full review of that is up here!

This week I hope to finish Ensnared, and after that read Alienated and Invaded by Melissa Landers! This is a super busy week for me at school so I may not get to all three of them, but here's hoping!

What did your reading week look like?

xx
Sunny

look at her go: reviewin', reviewin': The Song of Achilles

Name: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
☆☆☆☆☆
find it on goodreads
barnes and noble
amazon
full, non-spoilery review under the cut!

Synopsis: Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful— irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

top ten hyped books I haven't read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, where each week there is a themed list, and you must come up with ten books to put on that themed list.

This week, the theme is "February 3: Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Haven't/Want To Read From X Genre (for example I feel like I'm pretty well read in contemporary YA but there are some STAPLES I can't believe I haven't read. Or if you just want to books you WANT to read in a particular genre..not necessarily long overdue." This is hard for me because, unless I really just don't read a particular genre, I usually try to get to at least ten or so books a year in a certain one. So I don't know if there are 10 YA fantasy books that I've been dying to read etc etc... however. I do know there are quite a few books that have gotten lots of hype, whether it be from goodreads, booktube, blogs, friends or cashiers at Barnes and Noble, that I have not yet gotten to. So here they are.

Caroline's Top Ten Very Hyped Books That She Hasn't Read And Is Ashamed

1. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series – George R.R. Martin (2-5, I barely made it through the first one) 

2. The Study Series – Maria V Snyder 

3. Landline – Rainbow Rowell

4. Outlander – Diana Gabaldon (as well as the rest of the series, I just hear more about book 1)

5. The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman 

6. The Opposite of Loneliness – Marina Keegan

7. The Kingkiller Chronicles – Patrick Rothfuss 

8. Unravel Me & Ignite Me – Tahereh Malfi (I read Shatter Me, years ago now though)

9. All Souls Trilogy – Deborah Harkness 

10. Red Rising Trilogy (Books 1 & 2 out now) – Pierce Brown

so there you have it! Ten books (and series) that I have heard endless good things about, but for some reason or another, just haven't picked up yet! let me know if you've read any of these!

xx

Sunny

january wrap-up

I think wrap-ups are a good way to keep track of what you read and when you read it over the course of a year. I also like to look back and see how the last month of my life has been, reading-wise. Therefore, I present to you my January wrap-up.

I read a total of nine books in the month of January, which was a little less than I wanted, but it was still a pretty stellar month in terms of reading!

1. Until Midnight – Melissa Landers ☆☆☆☆
(spoilers!) Cara and Aelyx only have one day to spend together before he returns to earth and she travels to Aelyx's home planet, L'eihr. Homesick and worried about the upcoming year apart, Cara is desperate to make these final hours count. Worst of all, Cara is missing Christmas, stuck on board an alien spaceship. When Aelyx learns that Cara is forgoing her favorite holiday, he tries to recreate Christmas in space by researching traditional earth customs…but a few things get lost in translation.
 

 2. Heir of Fire – Sara J Maas  ☆☆☆☆☆
(MAJOR spoilers!!)  
Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy.

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

3. On the Fence – Kasie West ☆☆☆☆
For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows—including her longtime neighbor and honorary fourth brother, Braden. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and BeDazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pickup game.
To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late-night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

4.  Humans of New York – Brandon Stanton ☆☆☆☆☆
In the summer of 2010, photographer Brandon Stanton set out on an ambitious project: to single-handedly create a photographic census of New York City.  Armed with his camera, he began crisscrossing the city, covering thousands of miles on foot, all in an attempt to capture New Yorkers and their stories.  The result of these efforts was a vibrant blog he called "Humans of New York," in which his photos were featured alongside quotes and anecdotes.
Humans of New York is the book inspired by the Internet sensation. With four hundred color photos, including exclusive portraits and all-new stories, Humans of New York is a stunning collection of images that showcases the outsized personalities of New York.
Surprising and moving, Humans of New York is a celebration of individuality and a tribute to the spirit of the city.

5. Defy – Sara B Larson ☆☆☆☆
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.
The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?

6. Ignite – Sara B Larson  ☆☆☆☆
(spoilers!!) 

Murder, abductions, and forbidden romance abound in this thrilling sequel to Sara B. Larson's acclaimed YA debut, DEFY.

Alexa remains by the newly crowned King Damian’s side as his guard, ever committed to helping him rebuild Antion and reclaim the hope of Antion's people, despite continuing to harbor a secret love for him. However, when another threat to Damian and his kingdom emerges, and blame is cast on their newly forged allies from Blevon, Alexa knows things are not what they seem. With the fate of her nation hanging in the balance once again, will Alexa be able to protect her king and uncover the true enemy -- before it's too late?

7. The Chaos of Stars (re-read) – Kiersten White ☆☆☆☆☆
 
Kiersten White, New York Times bestselling author of Paranormalcy, is back with The Chaos of Stars—an enchanting novel set in Egypt and San Diego that captures the magic of first love and the eternally complicated truth about family.
 
Isadora's family is seriously screwed up—which comes with the territory when you're the human daughter of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Isadora is tired of living with crazy relatives who think she's only worthy of a passing glance—so when she gets the chance to move to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic—and dangerous—complications . . . and Isadora quickly learns there's no such thing as a clean break from family.

8.  The Year I Turned Sixteen – Diane Schwemm ☆☆☆

 Turning sixteen is an unforgettable milestone, and each of these four sisters has her own story to tell. Rose, the oldest, feels like she has the most responsibility when her father dies, and yearns to be true to herself. Daisy wants to break free from her family, but trouble arises when she falls for a bad boy. Laurel struggles with the loss of a close relative and finds herself drawn to a boy who may actually understand. And Lily, the youngest sister, feels like nothing could be more difficult than actually being herself. These four books in one special bind-up make for a great value—and an even better read.

9. These Broken Stars – Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner ☆☆☆☆


Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth.






So what did you guys read in the month of January?

xx
Sunny

book boyfriends tag

So since today is Sunday and I'm finished with homework and bored, I was just clicking around on booktube. And when I came across this tag, I figured, who doesn't like talking about men who are both unattainable and also fictional? No one, that's who. I saw this video on Christine's channel, but the original video is here!
So, I decided to pick my top ten book boyfriends and then assign each one to a question in this tag. No repeats!Click read more to see my list and the tag questions!

sunday summations

I apologize for the lack of posting this week- it's been super busy and I have been in sort of a reading slump! This week has much less coursework that I am anticipating, and also more time for reading!!

However, this past week I did manage to keep up with my readalong with Violet, and I think we are both enjoying reading Frostfire by Amanda Hocking. I also managed to finish Splintered by A.G Howard, which I adored and have rated 4.5 stars.

This coming week, I want to finish the Splintered trilogy (the last two books are Unhinged and Ensnared) and also read Gayle Forman's new book, I Was Here.

What was your week like, reading wise?

xx
Sunny